Charge dismissed in St. Joseph County caning case

Another charge remains; battery trial of woman, 81, may end today.

Another charge remains; battery trial of woman, 81, may end today.

April 04, 2007|PABLO ROS Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Prosecutors in the trial of an 81-year-old woman accused of beating up a police officer lost one battle Tuesday when a judge dismissed one of two charges against her. Betty Chambers faces a felony charge of battery after allegedly hitting a police officer on the head with a cane, causing him to suffer a mild concussion. She also faced a felony charge of resisting law enforcement for allegedly struggling with another officer and causing him to suffer a dislocated shoulder. Chambers allegedly did this while trying to prevent the officers from arresting her caregiver, Tom Holleman, who reportedly became confrontational when the officers showed up at Chambers' home to check on her welfare. Judge Jerome Frese dismissed the second of the charges after hearing testimony from both St. Joseph County police officers, Cpl. Lonny Foresman and Detective Sgt. John Pavlekovich. According to the evidence, Frese said, Chambers did not directly struggle with Pavlekovich or injure him. Foresman, Pavlekovich, Chambers and Chambers' neighbor, Jean Smith, offered jurors four detailed accounts of what unfolded about 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 11, 2005. Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Haverkos tried to show that the officers were justified in using force against Holleman because Holleman had lost control. The two officers said Holleman began cursing and yelling at them to leave the home as soon as they asked about Chambers' welfare, and his body language was threatening. Foresman said he Tasered Holleman several times while he and Pavlekovich struggled to handcuff him. It was then that Chambers intervened, Foresman said, striking him with her cane twice in the head and once in the neck. Pavlekovich, who was kneeling next to Foresman, said Foresman lost his balance and nearly fell on top of him. He said it was while pushing Foresman away that he strained his back and pulled a shoulder. Chambers' attorney, David Newman, successfully argued that the charge of resisting law enforcement was invalid according to the evidence because Chambers did not directly struggle with or injure Pavlekovich. He also said that hitting Foresman did not amount to struggling with the other officer. Smith, who witnessed the incident, questioned the officers' intentions and subsequent use of force. "They said they were there to check up on Betty, but they didn't pay any attention to Betty," Smith said. "They told Tom to sit down and shut up." Deputy Prosecutor Haverkos also tried to emphasize the severity of Chambers' blows to Foresman. "I felt a bump on my head," Foresman recalled. "I shook it off at first because I didn't know what it was. It was just a knock." But then he felt a second and a third blow. "That's when I was stunned," he said, describing a tingling sensation that made him feel like he might pass out. "I knew I was hurting at that time." Pavlekovich told the jury that after receiving a third blow, Foresman seemed to go in and out of consciousness. But Newman tried to show that the blows were in self-defense. "Oh, my God, I said, 'Jean, they're beating up Tom,'" Chambers recalled while testifying in her own defense. "I've got to help him. They're gonna kill him!" Chambers said she acted out of concern for herself. "I have to protect my interests," she said of Holleman. "If he's gone, I'm gone." Staff writer Pablo Ros: pros@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6357